Ground Zero
by NCISChick92
Summary: In 2001, Gibbs's eldest daughter, Jen, has classes scheduled at the Twin Towers from September 11th until the 15th. Classes start at 8 A.M. Will our favorite Special Agent face tragedy... Again?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Just a little tribute to 9/11 using my charater, Jen. And no, these chapters aren't as long as my other ones were because these were from when I just had started writing. I took them down to do some minor tweaks and spelling and grammar checks. Reviews, Please!**

_September 9th, 2001_

I had just finished packing my bag for the following day's trip. Our school was paying for a trip to New York City for the select few high school students who had some part of their immediate family in the military. It took alot of convincing, but I had finally talked my dad into letting me go. We were set to depart DC at 0700, which means we'd be in New York by 0800. I smiled at myself, using military time and words like depart. I sounded like my dad. Our trip planner said that tomarrow would be a free day, and classes would start the 11th. I walked down the stairs and saw my dad making dinner, he'd been antsy about the trip all week. I came up behind him and hugged him, then stood on my tiptoes to kiss his cheek. He smiled.

"I'll be fine." I said, noting the worry in his eyes, dispite the smile.

"Your teacher thinks so."

"So should my dad." I said, smiling. I set the table and we sat down to eat.

"Daddy..." I said, still noting he was nervous. Most people wouldn't notice it, but I was his daughter.

"I'll be okay." I said, dispite the little voice in the back of my mind telling me that something was going to go wrong. I pushed the thought to the back of my head, ruling it as wanting to stay with Spencer.

"Mrs. Hale even gave me my own room, since she knows what happened last month..." I said, trailing. I tried not to think about it, but the nightmares were awful, reliving every painful second as if I were still there.

"I'll call every chance I get." I told him, forcing myself not to think about August.

"Jen... Okay." I realized I was rambling.

"Then stop worrying." I said, my eyes pleading.

"I will." He leaned over to kiss my cheek.

"Now go to bed. You have a big day tomarrow." I smiled and hugged him and started up the stairs. I walked into my room and got one of my boyfriend's old shirts and a pair of shorts and got into bed, snuggling under the covers, and eventually fell asleep, my hands around the locket he gave me for my birthday.

**A/N: What do you think? Chapter 3 should be about the time that it happens, I'm just trying to give you a good feel for what's going on. When I say 'Spencer' I mean off of Criminal Minds, so you get the mental image that I have. But i'm not going to make it a crossover:)**


	2. Chapter 2

I was waken by my alarm clock and I got up, getting dressed and walking down the stairs. There were two people there, in the living room instead of just one. It took my eyes a second to focus when I finally muttered softly,  
"Spencer..." I said, unable to find words.  
"You shouldn't be here..." I said softly, finally collecting my thoughts.  
"You should be asleep." We said in unison, he smiled weakly.  
"I know..." He said.  
"I couldn't let you go without saying goodbye..." He said, pulling me close to him, I hugged him.  
"I'm gonna miss you..." I whispered.  
"Gonna miss you too..." He said. We had been dating for a year or so, I nuzzled my face into his neck, enjoying the warmness. I felt him smile.  
"I love you..." He murmured into my ear.  
"I love you too..." I said, not moving my face. I heard my dad clear his throat, I smirked and pulled away. I walked over to him and hugged him.  
"I love you. I'll call you when I land..." I said, smiling. I fought back the feeling that something was going to go wrong, again, and kissed his cheek. I left after ten more minutes of goodbyes. I left for the airport and I got there, paying to park and checking my luggage. I went through security and finally found my group along with my teacher.  
"Mrs. Hale..." I smiled.  
"Hello dear..." She smiled.  
"How are you, honey?" She smiled.  
"Okay... My boyfriend is amazing about helping me." I smiled. The month before I had been kidnapped, raped, and torture for three days before I was found. I noticed we had started boarding and I found my seat. It was beside a Marine in his dress blues. I turned my head to swipe at the tears in my eyes, my hand clasped around the dog tags, my fathers, around my neck.  
"Someone in your family at war?" He asked me softly, I smiled, tears still threatening my eyes.  
"No sir... my dad... He-He was..."  
"A marine?" He smiled. "Gunny used to tell me 'No such thing as an ex-marine'" He smiled, I looked down, thinking about my childhood.  
"My dad says that a lot..." The marine looked at me, his eyes brightened.  
"You're kidding. You're Jen? He finally found you?" He smiled.  
"Ye-Yeah..." I stammered. "How did you know?" He chuckled.  
"How could I not? You and Kelly and Shannon were all he talked about." He smiled. I had lived with Shannon, Kelly, and my dad... until Shannon and Kelly were murdered. 'All because of one stupid phone call...' I thought to myself and had to swipe at my eyes again.  
From the time I was 10 until I was 14... I had lived with Shannon, Kelly, and my dad. When Shannon and Kelly were murdered... I was taken into foster care until my dad got back. I shook my head, thinking about the day he came home...  
**A/N: Next chapter is a flashback. Yes, Gibbs is at NCIS when 9/11 happens and if you look, what happened in August is in this chapter. :) This is AU, obviously because the timeline could not possibly match up, but work with me here. I'm getting to the 11th, I promise. I just wanted to give you some insight on the Shannon/Kelly thing. I'm going as fast as I can and hopefully I'll have the next chapter up tonight and hopefully I can post the chapter of the 11th tomorrow.**

****I hope this makes sense! I did a last minute edit!**


	3. Chapter 3

_flashback _  
I was sitting on the couch, in a black dress. I despised the color black. It sickened me, of course, that may have been due to the lack of sleep and from crying all night. I had just lost my step mother and eight year old sister. I blamed myself. It was my fault. I had been the one that called Shannon. I was the one that got them to come to Jenny's. The last time I would ever see my little sister was a tear-stained face, begging me to come with them. She missed me and I knew it, but I had come to stay with Jenny and that was what I was going to do. I smiled as we had said our goodbyes, hugging them both for a long time, attempting to shake the feeling of dread as they left. I burst out in tears when they left, and ran to my room. A few hours later, Jenny walked in to tell me the news...  
I swiped at my eyes. I had given up on any attempt to wear makeup and I sobbed softly. Suddenly I felt a warm arm around me, and I was leaning into his chest, smelling the familiar scent of him.  
"Daddy.." I said softly, tears still streaming down my face.  
"I know... I know..." He held me close, he kissed the top of my head.  
"Shh Jenni... Shh.." He tried to coax me. "I thought it was you too..." He murmured into my ear, I sobbed.  
"It should've been!" I said, letting tears hit his uniform.  
"Jenni... No... if it should've been it would've been..." He said, trying to comfort me, I noticed the tear on his face and wiped it away gently.  
"Daddy..." I said softly, blinking back tears. "You never cry..." I whispered, he held me close, burying his face in my hair as I felt a few tears escape his eyes. I swiped at my eyes quickly, close to having another break down. I missed them already. I sobbed, unable to hold it back. Kelly. She was eight. Eight. She had her whole life... and now- I sobbed again, unable to even think the words, much less say them aloud. My dad got up, and once I got enough of the tears out to where I could see again, led me to the car. I sobbed once we got in, holding tightly to the charm bracelet they had gotten me for my last birthday. It was silver and had one charm. The charm said 'Semper Fi' in cursive had a blue dot over the I in Fi. It was beautiful and I hadn't taken it off since the day I had got it.  
We got to the funeral home in about 20 minutes, and my dad had to help me out. Once we were in, I sat on the couch and cried, not noticing anyone or anything else. My dad eventually got me up and led me out of the room, unable to stand seeing me cry anymore.  
"Jenni..." He held me close, I sobbed softly, trying to regain control of it.  
"I'm sorry..." I apologized.  
"Shh... it's okay baby... I just cant stand seeing you cry sweetheart..." He held me and rubbed my back comfortingly. "Shh... you're okay... Shh..."  
_Present Day _  
I looked at the Marine next to me, noting the wedding ring on his left hand, I smiled.  
"Your family... are they waiting for you?" He smiled  
"My wife and daughter are... So are my parents..." He smiled. I smiled back, thinking back to the first time my dad had left for Kuwait, Kelly and I both crying, Shannon fighting back tears, trying to be strong for him, I looked at the marine.  
"Trust me, the best feeling in the world to them, is when you step off that plane, and they see you..." A tear rolled down my face, I was smiling. "And they know that you made it home safe, and that they get to hug you again..." I swiped at the tears rolling down my face. Even though the last time my dad had left had been more than 3 years ago, I remembered it like it was yesterday. I sniffled and the marine handed me a tissue, I smiled gratefully.  
"Thanks." I said softly as we began to land. I hadn't realized I was lost in thought for so long. We got out of the airport and got on a bus, I texted Spencer while balancing my luggage in my lap. 'Just landed. Tell daddy I'm okay. love you xoxo' I sent the text and smiled when the reply came in.  
'Done. Love you more xoxoxo' I rolled my eyes and shut my phone, smiling. We got to the hotel and I carried my luggage to my room. I figured I'd eat and go to bed since classes started at eight the next morning. I ordered out for Chinese and half an hour later, I was eating and flipping through a pamphlet I was given about the class. I finished eating and showered, and finally crawled into bed, getting comfortable. I pulled the covers over my head and fought the feeling of dread for the next day. I wasn't sure why I was dreading it, I just had this... feeling...  
**A/N: Don't kill me! I know it's short but tomorrow's chapter WILL be longer. Promise. Until tomorrow, sweet dreams :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: The day when I wrote the thing below, It actually was September 11th. :)**

**A/N: Yes, today is September 11th, 2011. I was in Pre-K when the twin towers were attacked. I lived in North Georgia at the time, and I was checked out of school that day. My mom was so hysterical with fear that she could not drive, therefore my grandmother had to come get me. I remember coming in with 'mawmaw' and seeing everyone sitting around the TV. My mom picked me up and hugged me as soon as I walked in the door, and I remember sitting in front of the TV watching Fox 5 news and the reports. I didn't really understand it at the time, but I knew it wasn't good. I have somehow always had a respect for those in the U.S. Military, though I have no idea why. None of my family was/are in the military, and I only know one man who is in the military at all, and he's stationed in Kentucky. The mystery of this blows my mind, and I have no idea why I have such a respect for these people, but every time I see someone in uniform, I get tears in my eyes. I know America will NEVER FORGET 9/11 and the lives lost in the awful tragedy.**

I woke up to the sound of my alarm clock, I got up and got dressed, making my hair curly and decent looking. I put eyeliner and mascara on, figuring that'd be good enough. I grabbed my oversized Hollister bag and met the bus out front. I took pictures on the way to the twin towers. It was a beautiful, bright, clear morning. We got to the towers, I was amazed at how big it was. We took the elevator up to the 95th floor, and got to our classroom. It was 7:50 by then. We all sat down in a seat and they called role. I noticed a familiar looking face in the back of the room and smiled. 'Justin Kayber' I said in my head. He was a Navy Lieutenant that was on the ship when I was kidnapped. His family were killed by the same people who had me. He came and sat down beside me, smiling, I answered when my name was called, then he hugged me.  
"Hey you." He said and smiled. I rolled my eyes playfully. I just happened to glance at my teacher.  
"Ms. Hale?" I asked, becoming concerned. She looked like she was scared.  
"Just a second dear..." She said, still panicking. I got up and helped her to a chair.  
"Ms. Hale... what are you looking for?" I looked at her, she looked like she remembered something.  
"I have to find it." She said, mostly to herself, trying to stand.  
"Ms. Hale." I said, not letting her up, kneeling in front of her. "What are you looking for?" I asked her. "Tell me, and I'll help you find it." I said, she looked at me like I was crazy.  
"My medicine..." she said. Obviously she was on treatments for the early stages of dementia.  
"You left it on the bus, in your purse." I said, trying to soothe her. "Do you want me to go get it?" I asked her.  
"No, I have to... It's in my purse." She said, making another attempt to get up.  
"Ms. Hale..." I said, shooting one of the guys a 'Keep her here.' look. "Let me go get your purse and then you can have your medicine." I said, motioning Kayber with my eyes to come with me. He agreed with no hesitation. He knew I was still scared to go anywhere alone. We were out of the building by 8:40 and off of the bus by 8:45. We were less than one hundred yards away from the North tower, which was the tower our class was in, when it was hit. Kayber happened to see the plane in time enough to pull us both down so we weren't hurt too bad.  
"KABOOM!" Is what I heard, then I saw dust, lots of dust and dirt and... paper? That was... paper... flying around us. I felt a sharp pain in my left ankle and almost screamed from the agony of it. I was 99% positive it was broken. I heard Kayber in my ear, obviously I had hit my head too, because all the colors around me were changing. I was fading in and out of the darkness.  
"Jenni... Jenni... Stay with me... come on Jen..." I heard Kayber begging. "Please Jenni..." I moaned from the pain in my ankle, which hurt my head even more.  
"Where are you hurting?" I heard him say.  
It was almost all I could do to get out "ankle"  
"Right or left?" he asked me, I was silent. "Come on Jenni... Right or left?"  
"Left." I said, finally letting my consciousness slip, the last thing I felt was Justin picking me up carefully and running towards the sounds of the sirens.

**A/N: So... Maybe I lied. This isn't longer, but it's got more of a climax thing to it. I promise I'll post the next chapter today since I wrote this last night.  
IMPORTANT NOTE!: Justin Kayber is one of Raven41190's characters, and so is Courtney Hale, which I shall bring in momentarily:)**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Okay, if you're reading this, you owe a BIG thank you to 'DolphinSiren is me' I would've never written this chapter without their help. Thank you again and on with the story... and again, here's to our heroes. :) **

I woke up in a bright room, which hurt my eyes and my head. I looked around to see Kayber, Spencer, and my dad.  
"Morning, sleeping beauty." Kayber said, smirking. I wanted to smile but didn't have enough energy, the next thing I knew, Spencer was beside my bed, holding my hand. I noticed all the scrapes and cuts, where debris had hit me. I saw the news and it all came back in a flash. The medicine, the purse, the bus, the plane, I sobbed, then clutched at my ribs.  
"Sorry mini Hale..." Kayber trailed. I realized he did what he did to protect me. He was the one who broke my ankle and ribs, but he did it to protect me. I realized he had called me Mini-Hale like he used to. He was referring to me as 'Mini-Hale' because Courtney Hale was my agent, assigned to protect me last August. It was my fault that I was taken. I knew that. She refused to believe it, but it was my fault.  
"No... Justin... I should be telling you thank you..." I said softly.  
"No problem kiddo... just don't make a habit of this." He smirked, I halfway smiled, then sobbed. 'The whole class...' I thought to myself. 'They have to be gone... we-we were right there...' I said to myself, my thoughts barely coherent.  
"Jen..." Spencer said, trying to comfort me. I sobbed, half from the pain, half from the thoughts that half of my classmates and one of my best friend's grandmother just died.  
"I should've let her go..." I said softly, tears streaming down my face.  
"No... Jen..." Kayber said. "You shouldn't have. There's a reason you got out of that building alive." He said, at that moment, a familiar face walked into the room.  
"Courtney..." I said softly, her face puffy from crying. I knew her. She was strong, she wouldn't show any emotion. "I'm so sorry..." I said, tears forming in my eyes again.  
"Hey... Kiddo... there's no reason to be..." She said, trailing, watching the news. A nurse came in.  
"Can I please go home now?"  
"Uh, I'll have to ask, but if I'm not mistaken, you're free to go." She walked out of the room and walked back in a few minutes later.  
"You're all set." She smiled politely.  
"Thank you ma'am." I told her as she handed me crutches.  
"You'll have to walk on those for eight weeks..." She said, I pouted playfully. "Hey, it's the only way your foot's gonna heal..." She smiled, I looked at Courtney.  
"Come with us. I'm ready to get out of here..." I said, attempting to stand on the crutches but almost ended up falling. I smirked.  
"Note to self: Not coordinated enough to use crutches." I muttered, smirking. Spencer kissed my cheek.  
"Glad to see you can still make jokes." He smiled, I smiled back.  
(Back in DC)  
I got back from the trip, and had 19 funerals in two weeks. Needless to say, I had never cried so much in my entire life. We basically told the days apart by which funeral we were at. For a month, all I could feel was this... numbness. Like I had after Kate died. I finally realized I was depressed. We went to the doctor, daddy was so concerned that I wouldn't eat. I kept telling him I was fine but he just shook his head. The whole time we were there I didn't hear a word they said. I did what I was told and then didn't listen to what he had found. They gave me anti-depressants and sent me home. I ate little things to make my dad feel better. I snapped out of it one day in January.  
(Flashback)  
I jumped as I heard my dad's hand collide with the hard wood of the table. Not enough to hurt him, but loud enough to get my attention. He was staring at me with his ice-blue eyes, most would find that intimidating, but I was his daughter, I had nothing to fear.  
"I'm tired of this Jen." I was already in tears by the time he got the last word out of his mouth.  
"Y-You don't think I am too? I hate feeling like this! I hate crying every day, and feeling weak and vulnerable! I'm sick of it too dad! But I can't do anything about it! I was the only one out of 20 people that survived in that class! I can't help it!" I had tears streaming down my face, I sobbed softly. If there was nothing else I hated more, it was seeing my dad hurt by something did or said. He looked apologetic.  
"You're right." I said softly. "I need to get over it. And trust me daddy, if I knew how, I would. But I can't. There were so many truly good people in that class..." I shook my head.  
(Present day)  
It was now February 29th. The day that my step mother and sister supposedly died. Note I say supposedly because their death dates were recorded as February 29th, 1991. I looked back on my calendar, and there was never a February 29th, 1991. I was never brave enough to ask my dad about it, though I knew he wondered. He was extremely... distant... here lately. Not that I wasn't either. I was looking through a photo album of them...

**A/N: Thank you so much. I felt your thoughts and prayers. What was wrong, was my mother went to the hospital for stomach cramps and vomiting. Today, she had to be re-admitted to the ER because she passed out at work from the stomach cramps, but she was told what was wrong. Thank you so much and I hope you all enjoy this chapter.  
*I took this down to do some tweaking, but this chapter brought me to tears. I lost a very close friend 2 months ago, and I think about him every day. My mom IS okay. She is prego! That's not the reason for her pain, but she is prego! :) It's a boy. And his first name will be Jacob and his middle name will be Todd. I find that funny, because when I use Jen, her last name is almost always Todd ;)**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: So, how do you like the new chapters? Lemme know! And I'm trying to find a way to end this peacefully... So... Yes :) And sorry for switching POV's so much. Especially right here at the beginning. I'm trying to make it not as choppy. **

_Gibbs's P.O.V. _  
I was worried about my daughter. She was looking at a photo album of her mother and sister. What father wouldn't be worried? I tried to convince myself that it was just her missing Shannon and Kelly because they were dead. Not alive, dead.I knew they were dead. I had known they were dead since I was told, and almost died in Kuwait. They were dead. I shook my head, holding my daughter, rubbing her back comfortingly as the first tears fell. "Jenni..." I said, trying to comfort her. She sobbed, burying her face in my chest.  
"Jenni... come on... you're okay honey..." I heard her sob softly again, but stop eventually.  
"That's better..." I said, looking at her, concerned.  
"I'm okay..." She said, noting the worry in my eyes.  
"I know that, Jen..." I said. I kissed her cheek and got up, pulling her with me. I hugged her close, it had been entirely too long. I kissed the top of her head and held her close to me.  
_Jen's P.O.V. _  
It was odd for my dad to do this, but I couldn't say I didn't like it. He was being sweet, he was being a dad and trying to be supportive. I smiled when I felt him kiss the top of my head. He pulled away gently.  
"Feel better?" He asked. I smiled.  
"Much." I smiled and noticed Spencer walking in. "Spencer!" I said and hugged him when he got to me. I would've ran to him, but the cast on my ankle made that nearly impossible.  
"Woah..." He smiled. "Someone's in a good mood today..." I smiled.  
"I needed a reason to smile." I said, still hugging him. He kissed me softly.  
"What about me?" My dad asked, pouting playfully. I smiled.  
"Mine?" Spencer asked, I was about to tell him 'Always' when I was pulled away by Gibbs.  
"Nope." He answered. "Mine." He smirked and kissed my cheek, letting me go. I smiled.  
"Both of you have lost it." I said, smirking, sitting down on the couch.  
"Eh..." They replied at the same time, I couldn't help but laugh. They looked at each other with confused expressions, then got it. I smirked.  
"And I'm the blonde one." I smirked, Spencer sat down beside me and started tickling me.  
"Spence..." I said between laughs. "No... stop!" I said, protesting, but he kept tickling. He stopped and I stuck my tongue out at him. He started tickling me again. "Okay! Okay!" I said breathlessly. "I give." I smiled. He sat back, obviously pleased with himself. I rolled my eyes playfully, he pulled me close, I laid my head on his shoulder, holding both of his hands. I could tell that I was going to be okay, and that things would eventually be okay... A happy ending... I smiled at the thought and leaned back, between two men who loved me more than I could ever know.

****Like I said, It was when I first started writing when I worte these chapters, so that's why they are so short. The newer ones will be longer, Promise!**


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